


Fluffy Sharks

by AlyssAlenko



Series: Stolen Moments for Shoker [25]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Babies, Baby Names, Decorating, Decorating The Nursery, Expecting, F/M, Genetic Disorders & Abnormalities, Genetics, Love, Medical Conditions, Nursery, Stuffed Toys, Trust, Vrolik's Syndrome, Worry, expecting a baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 14:50:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14138319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssAlenko/pseuds/AlyssAlenko
Summary: I was prompted byJoUFancyHuhto use the prompt: “Okay but hear me out: Fluffy. Sharks.” for Shep/JokerThis took so much longer than I expected and took a detour I wasn’t anticipating–reminding me of Voyager when B'Elanna was worried about their kid being part Klingon and wanted to medically alter their child, but I figured something like this would happen due to the nature of Joker's condition.





	Fluffy Sharks

“So, an under the sea theme? Did we finally agree?”

“Think about it; we can do various blue and greens, and your favorite purple and imagine all the creatures! Turtles, whales, sea slugs, coral…and sharks! All the sharks!”

He bit his lower lip, barring her way before she made it fully up the stairs, Abigail laughed, rolling her eyes as she tugged his beard gently and kissed him softly.

“Jeff, move; let your pregnant wife off the stairs. Is there some reason you won’t let me pass…and why is your hair wet again?”

“It’s called a shower, and people take them to get clean.”

She smacked the brim of his hat down. “Answer the damn question.”

“Promise me you won’t get mad.”

“That depends wholly on what you did.”

He grabbed the bill of his hat, removing it from his head before replacing it–his nervous tick. He supposed that was fair. Abigail crossed her arms over her chest, as best she could due to her swollen belly, arching an eyebrow at him and making him sigh as he stepped aside to allow her to pass. Her hand found his as they walked down the hallway together towards the nursery. She turned the knob, the door swinging inwards, revealing a transformed room; the walls were painted a beautiful blue-green with hints of purple flecked throughout, and different colored coral prints lining the base board, giving the whole room an underwater vibe.

Abigail whirled on him, torn somewhere between flabbergasted and appalled.

“You decorated the nursery without me? We were supposed to do that together!”

“Okay, I didn’t know when you were gonna get home from your meeting, and I wanted to surprise you…but hear me out: Fluffy. Sharks.” He limped over to the crib, tugging her along behind him and held up a large blue shark plushie.

She kissed him quickly, of course he’d had help due to his brittle shin bones, but what a nice surprise. “It looks amazing, Jeff!”

That explained the water droplets in his beard–he’d had to shower to get all the paint off in order to keep his secret, the wet hair suspicious after their shower together that morning. But she couldn’t find it in herself to be mad, not with the love and effort that had gone into making their little girl’s room so perfect and one of a kind. Though, having the nursery decor up and finished made the whole thing kind of surreal; they were having a baby, a little girl who was bound to be their whole world. Sometimes he found her with her eyes glued to her stomach, mystified that a life was growing inside her. His hand was gentle as he placed it on the side of her swollen stomach, feeling their baby kick against his palm. Joker sighed heavily and collapsed into the rocking chair next to the crib, fiddling with the brim of his hat, a misplaced emotion lurking behind his eyes when he glanced at her.

Fear.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” She braced her hands against the arms of the chair, pressing her forehead against his.

How did she always know?

“Abs, what if Spencer has Vrolik’s?” His eyes met hers, worry swimming behind them.

Abigail shrugged. “Who cares?”

“You should! My disease put a strain on my parents’ marriage; I needed help sometimes for the most mundane things; and it’s hard to miss the pity in people’s eyes when they see you struggling. Maybe we should consider an operation, in-utero gene splicing or something.”

“Absolutely not; I’ll love her even if she has brittle shin bones. She was created with the man I love, and I’ll help her overcome her obstacles no matter what it takes. She’s our daughter and I’ll always be there if she needs me. Though, I’m pretty sure if my death couldn’t keep me away from you, something like this is a trifle; I promise you here and now, that I won’t let it be a strain on our marriage…if I break my word, remind me of this moment. For better or for worse I promised on our wedding day.”

Somewhat reassured, Joker leaned up, cupping her chin as he brought her lips to his and pulled her down on his lap, fingers drawing little circles on her stomach as he felt Spencer shift again. He still worried of course, it was easy to say such things, but it was hard to be ready for your child to be sick or in constant pain, and even if she didn’t mean to, there was a chance she would pull away from him. That scared him. She was his everything and to lose her again, would destroy him, not sure he’d ever be able to pick up his shattered pieces. Abigail’s hand covered his where he rested it on her stomach; now she was worried–not for the same reason, but he would let this gnaw at him, and that wasn’t what she wanted. There was one person who could put her husband’s mind at ease, someone who knew his affliction and had been his staple for years.

“Grab your coat and put on your shoes.” Abigail kissed him softly before sliding off his lap and pulling him to his feet.

“Where are we going?”

“To someone with the answers you seek.”

She pulled up her omnitool to call for a shuttle as she wrapped her arm around his, taking his hand in hers and interlacing their fingers together. Abigail leaned against him as they descended the stairs together, quickly grabbing coats and shoes and making their way out of the apartment. Joker sat so close to her in the shuttle, reassuring himself with her presence, that she was here, and that here she would remain. She stroked the back of his hand with her thumb, leaning in to kiss him and let him know that everything was going to be fine–he was tense and even though he returned the kiss, he seemed less than enthusiastic. Their destination wasn’t as familiar as Joker hoped it would be. And he couldn’t quite figure it out. Even as they trailed up the walkway, arm in arm, hand in hand, it wasn’t until Abigail knocked and the door swung inward to reveal Dr. Chakwas that he knew what they were doing.

They were here to talk genetics, and medical options should the worst come to pass; how was it possible to love Abigail even more than he already did?

“Evening Karin. You busy?”

Karin smiled, shaking her head and ushering them across the threshold.

“I’m never too busy to see you, Commander.”


End file.
